Many voters not on the books in Philly

Samiyrah Tucker was in tears Tuesday morning when poll workers in West Philadelphia told her she had to cast a provisional ballot because her name was not on the registration books.

"I've been voting all my life and they can't find all of our names," Tucker said inside of Henry C. Lea elementary school, 47th and Locust streets. "Obama is going to lose votes because of this. I don't trust the [provisional] ballot."

Tucker was one of many voters whose names were not on the books and had to vote by provisional ballot. Provisional ballots are counted several days after the election. The political watchdog group the Committee of Seventy said there were reports that some judges were declining to allow voters to vote provisionally.

There are 1,099,418 registered voters in the city, 13 percent of the state's voters and there were concerns about the timely addition of new registrations.

"We've never had this many provisional ballots, ever," said Margaret Livingston, majority inspector in West Philadelphia adding as of 7 p.m. there were 100 provisional ballots cast, up from roughly 20 four years ago. She said some left, declining to vote provisionally.

The City Commissioner's Office was unable to provide information on the number of provisional ballots cast citywide in 2008 compared to this year.

Weeks before the election, the Committee of Seventy raised concerns about a backlog of voter registrations, which president of the group Zack Stalberg said "even common sense suggests that's part of the problem."

City Commissioner Al Schmidt, who testified in court Tuesday about the provisional ballot issues, said there was an "echo chamber factor going on, which results in isolated possible problems appearing to be widespread actual problems."

Meanwhile, Common Pleas Court President Judge Pamela Pryor Dembe ordered that a mural inside Ben Franklin Elementary School in Crescentville featuring Obama's portrait and an Obama campaign symbol be covered with "blank paper."

The Committee of Seventy received some reports of confusion related to the voter ID law in which Judges of Elections were telling voters they needed ID to vote, but the new law, which didn't require ID in this election, wound up being more of an issue in the subrubs than in the city, Stalberg said.

Meanwhile, in North Philadelphia, Jerry Jackson, a Democratic committeeman and member of the new Black Panther party returned Tuesday to the scene of a national controversy in 2008.

Jackson, who was one of two members at the center of a voter intimidation investigation by the U.S. Justice Department, said he had received information that voters would be intimidated at a polling place on Fairmount Avenue near 12th, but there was no sign of intimidation Tuesday.

Jackson spent the day handing out ballot information and talking to children.

Staff writers Morgan Zalot and Chris Brennan contributed to this report.

Contact Jan Ransom at ransomj@phillynews.com or 215-854-5218. Follow her on Twitter @Jan_Ransom. Read her blog at PhillyClout.com.